Less force, more ease.

Allowing the natural unfolding.

Softness is strength, too. 

Not only does the cultural mindset to go go go / get it done / faster = better / better = more create suffering and burnout, but it also breeds retention of that suffering. Many people live with decades of pain and stress stored in their bodies; it has never gotten a chance to release. The rapid pace at which we have been conditioned to move keeps us from accessing the freedom that softness brings.

Strength is a blend of consistent determination and surrender. Being strong is not only about gathering the grit to navigate setbacks; it is also about pausing, waiting, and perhaps changing course. Strength involves patience and the willingness to move through challenges with a regulated nervous system.

Life may not be easy, but we can approach difficulty with ease. Softening into the jagged edges allows you to truly move past them, and wind up stronger on the other side.

Respect (your) timing.

You won’t move at the same rate as others. You aren’t supposed to. Everyone has their own unique life path, with their own sets of lessons and experiences, on their own timelines. Your timing and path is perfectly correct for you.

Life is not a race, but a long game. Playing it as such will serve us well. When we try to force what isn’t right or ready, we often encounter more resistance. The less force we exert, the easier it is to align with what is true. We can move slowly and assertively, as my yoga teacher says, with respect for the natural pace at which our lives want to go.

In educational psychology, there is a method of learning called the ‘spiral curriculum.’ Gradually, teachers layer increasingly complex concepts on top of the basics, and as students integrate each layer, their capacity to receive more information grows.

The spiral method applies to all types of growth, because we can only understand what we are ready to understand. We cannot schedule ‘a-ha’ moments. We cannot trick the brain into knowing things or force our intuition to speak. The next steps of our lives unfold in their own time, as we are ready for them.

Trust (your) timing.

Your body will give you clues when you’re not going in the right direction or down a fulfilling path. And, when something is right, even if it is hard, your whole system will be on board. You can trust that you will be supported through whatever challenges arise.

Let it happen. Let it all just take place. As much as we can consciously create what we want and make decisions with awareness, we must also surrender to the truth that what is not ready to happen will not happen, and that we cannot know what we don’t yet know.

You have all the information you need for right now, right now.

xx, maggie

P.s. may you traverse this eclipse season trusting that everything is unfolding for your highest good! Because it is.